Ultrasonic imaging is a common diagnostic imaging of the current clinical medicine. The echogenicity of grayscale ultrasound image which reflects the internal structure or constituent information of the tissue is one of the important clinical diagnostic indices. However, different imaging parameter setting, screen display, ambient lighting, or subjective consideration influences the interpretation of the echogenicity of grayscale ultrasound image so as to result in some errors on the interpretation and the variance of computer analysis, and to increase difficulties of the subsequent statistical analysis and clinical interpretation.
If the same lesion is imaged with different ultrasonic devices, the captured ultrasound images of the same lesion may have different echogenicity. For example, it tends to acquire inconsistent grayscale ultrasound images of the thyroid nodule due to the difference of the ultrasonic device or the parameter setting. The parameter settings which affect the echogenicity directly may include gain, depth, time gain compensation, and so on.
Different ultrasonic device may lead to different echogenicity of the same lesion. In addition, different physician having different subjective consideration or different condition of visual fatigue may have different interpretation of echogenicity even though the ultrasound image is captured by the same ultrasonic device and imaging parameter, and is displayed with the same screen and display setting. In order to improve the accuracy of aid diagnosis of the grayscale ultrasound images and relieve the working loads of the physicians, it is needed to develop an objective quantification method for assessing echogenicity of the Region Of Interest (ROI).
As a result, the inventor focused on the above object and finally developed the useful invention after detailed design and evaluation based on the development and design experience the related field for years.